Del Mar officials ready to show off Richardson

Performance hall went through $5M renovations

Andrew Gonzales is ready to perform with some elbow room - Wolfe
Recital Hall can be a little cramped.

"There's not as much space on stage," the Del Mar College music
major said. "I'm pretty excited Richardson is opening."

Richardson Auditorium closed in June 2005 after years of calls for
improvements to the nearly 60-year-old building. Now, $5,094,758 and a
new name later, school officials expect to reopen Richardson
Performance Hall in January for school and public use. It will be
dedicated today.

"We had a lot of health and safety issues we were addressing," said
Shaun Meredith, interim auditorium manager. "Guest comfort was another
issue."

Americans with Disabilities Act compliance had been a concern for
school officials for years, Meredith said.

"We had an issue once where we had a gentleman who bought a ticket
to a show for a balcony seat, but he was in a wheelchair," he said. "We
couldn't get him up there."

Among the improvements were a $15,000 wheelchair lift, $71,000 in
flooring and $23,000 in landscaping renovations. Del Mar College will
have a rededication ceremony today to mark the near-finished product,
paid for by a $108 million bond approved by voters in April 2003.

Wooden seats, previously stationary and a safety hazard, have been
padded and fold, Meredith said.

Builders also installed a new drapery and lighting rigging system
and have expanded dressing room areas for performers.

The rental fee structure for using the facility has changed to
recover costs, said Joe Alaniz, the college's vice president of
business and finance.

"We have to do what's right, in terms of business," Alaniz said.

Meredith said school officials have streamlined the rental fee
structure into three categories: commercial, nonprofit and Del Mar use.
Fees range from $1,500 to $1,800 per non-Del Mar performance.

Although he probably will not perform in the auditorium, business
student Matthew Arispe is looking forward to the unveiling. He built
theater sets in the facility before the renovations, when he was a
student at Ray High School.